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"The  Sabbath  Question." 


SERMON 

Delivered  by 

Rabbi  William  Rosenau, 

May  22,  1897, 


Before 


BALTIMORE,  MD. 


"The  Sabbath  Question. 


SERMON 

Delivered  by 

Rabbi  William  Rosenau, 

May  22,  J897, 

Before 

Congregation  "Oheb  Shalom/ 
BALTIMORE,  MD. 


BALTIMORE  : 

Press  of  KOHN  &  POI^OCK,  Sharp  and  Pratt  Sts. 
1897. 


Stack 

Annex 


80  W 

'  '  My  Sabbaths  ye  shall  keep.  '  ' 

(Thes.  XXI'  II:  2.) 

IF  I  speak  to-day  somewhat  longer  than  usual,  I  beg 
C  your  kind  indulgence.  The  subject  selected  for 
treatment  is  so  important  that,  perhaps,  more  than 
the  half  hour  ordinarily  assigned  to  the  sermon  will 
have  to  be  consumed  to  do  justice  to  the  theme.  In 
fact,  I  know  of  no  question  presented  to  the  Jew  at  any 
time  during  his  career  that  could  be  compared  in 
seriousness  with  the  problem  before  us.  We  are 
surrounded  by  trying  social  and  religious  conditions. 
These  compel  us  to  be  doubly  circumspect  before 
offering  an  opinion  on  any  point  at  issue,  and  more 
especially  on  the  one  to  be  considered  this  morning. 
The  division  of  Israel's  kingdom  under  Rehoboam, 
the  deportation  of  our  ancestors  into  Babylonian 
exile,  the  destruction  of  the  Palestinean  state  by 
Titus,  the  execution  of  countless  sages  during  the 
reign  of  Hadrian,  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  from 
Spain  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabelle,  the  massacre  of  our 
coreligionists  in  Russia  may  all  stand  forth  conspicu- 
ously from  the  history  of  Israel,  because  of  the  radi 
cal  changes  wrought  by  them,  yet  none  of  these 
events,  however  revolutionary,  can  be  regarded  as 
epoch-making  for  us  as  the  one  which  the  all-absorb- 
ing query  of  the  hour,  irrespective  of  the  nature  of 
the  solution  given  by  our  people,  must  needs  call 
forth.  It  touches  the  very  life  of  Judaism.  And  its 
discussion,  wheresoever  carried  on  —  whether  in  so- 
called  conservative  or  radical  circles  —  is  prompted  by 
an  earnest  desire  to  prolong  that  life.  I  refer  to  the 
Sabbath  Question. 

5008C79 


This  question  is  by  no  means  new.  Nor  has  it 
only  yesterday  been  brought  home  to  us.  Ever  since 
Holdheim,  of  blessed  memory,  established  in  Berlin 
his  liberal  synagogue,  which  provided  for  a  Sunday 
Sabbath,  in  consequence  of  the  claim  of  many  that 
worship  on  Saturday  was  an  impossibility  for  the 
modern  Jew,  clergy  and  laity  in  our  ranks  have  de- 
voted considerable  thought  to  the  study  of  this 
question. 

An  old  controversy  has,  therefore,  merel}r  been 
reopened.  The  cause  of  this  was  a  contribution  on 
the  future  of  the  Russian  Jew  in  America  by  a  rep- 
resentative layman  of  Philadelphia  to  a  New  York 
Jewish  weekly.  In  said  contribution  appears  the 
strange  suggestion — strange,  because  made  by  one 
who  affiliates  with  the  orthodox  wing  of  Judaism — 
that  the  Russian  Jews  should,  in  order  to  have  a 
future  at  all,  dignify  Sunday  as  a  "  Shabbos  Sheni  " 
or  second  Sabbath,  transferring  to  Sunday,  while  it 
may  still  be  done,  that  sanctifying  spirit  which  in 
former  times  gave  life  and  potency  to  Israel's  histori- 
cal day  of  rest.  American  Jewry  is  all  agog,  and 
justly  so  by  virtue  of  the  recommendation  which  has 
been  made.  One  of  our  religious  journals  has 
solicited  opinions  on  the  advisability  of  such  a  step 
from  a  number  of  people  known  to  be  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  promotion  of  Judaism's  sacred  cause.  I, 
too,  was  the  recipient  of  a  letter  asking  for  an 
expression  of  my  humble  views.  I  failed  to  respond 
for  several  reasons,  among  which  there  was  none 
graver  than  the  feeling  that  the  time  allowed  was  too 
short  for  me  to  frame  a  fair  and  intelligent  answer. 
I  did  not  wish  to  rush  into  print  with  convictions  at 


best  half  formed.  Now,  however,  that  I  have  had 
ample  time  to  study  the  problem  from  every  point  of 
view,  I  am  ready  to  give  to  you  the  conclusions  at 
which  I  have  arrived,  in  the  fervent  hope  that  I  may 
rouse  all  within  reach  of  my  voice  to  an  appreciation 
of  our  critical  religious  situation. 

It  matters  little  whether  our  Philadelphia  corelig- 
ionist wrote  in  an  earnest  or  satirical  vein — and  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  the  latter — yet  so 
much,  at  least,  is  certain,  that  he  was  driven  to  his 
suggestion  by  his  observation  of  the  present  hopeless 
plight  of  the  historical  Sabbath.  We  can  not,  must 
not  and  will  not  close  our  eyes  to  facts.  Facts  speak 
for  themselves.  The  Sabbath  as  our  fathers  observed 
it  is  among  many  a  thing  of  the  past.  It  does  not 
differ  from  the  other  days  of  the  week.  Neither  its 
coming  nor  its  going  is  hallowed  by  religious  act. 
Its  hours  are  not  devoted  as  of  old  to  uplifting  wor- 
ship, but  to  degrading  drudgery.  On  it  it  is  not  the 
house  of  God  that  is  sought,  but  the  office,  the 
counting-house,  the  store,  the  factory.  The  Jew,  in 
fact,  has  no  Sabbath.  This  statement  holds  good  not 
only  of  the  reformer,  but  of  the  most  orthodox  as 
well.  Non-observant  as  the  Jew  may  be,  he,  how- 
ever, seems  by  no  means  ready  to  cut  loose  from 
religion  altogether.  The  Jew  is  human,  and,  there- 
fore, can  not  get  away  from  his  feeling  of  dependence 
upon  and  his  desire  of  communion  with  the  Being 
Supreme. 

In  the  face  of  this  so  general  violation  of  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  and  the  innate  character  of  man's 
religious  faculty,  one  is  tempted  to  believe  that  the 
remark,  "Well,  they'll  all  eventually  have  to  come 


to  it,"  recently  made  by  an  advocate  of  the  Sunday 
services  because  of  the  joy  experienced  over  the  com- 
pletion of  another  season  of  such  meetings,  will 
surely  meet  with  verification.  Nay,  I  will  go  even 
further  and  specify  the  time  for  the  realization  of 
this  prophecy.  I  feel  safe  in  asserting  that  within 
less  than  fifty  years  there  will  be  few  Jewish  congre- 
gations in  this  country  or  elsewhere  in  which  Sunday 
services  will  not  have  been  established  if  the  present 
universal  disregard  of  the  historical  Sabbath  con- 
tinues. We  need  expect  nothing  else.  It  will  follow 
as  naturally  as  effect  follows  cause.  By  the  radical 
the  innovation  whersoever  obtaining  will  be  viewed 
with  complacency.  By  the  conservative  it  will  be 
looked  upon  with  fear.  The  former  sees  in  it  a  ben- 
efit. The  latter  beholds  in  it  naught  but  danger.  In 
contemplating  this  question  I  at  times  felt  that  the 
radical  was  in  the  right.  And  then,  again,  I  was 
overpowered  by  the  conviction  that  the  conservative 
stood  on  safer  ground.  During  the  past  week  I  have 
again  studied,  and,  perhaps,  more  carefully  than 
ever,  the  significance  of  the  Sabbath  for  Judaism. 
And  with  what  results  ?  With  none  other  than  the 
growing  conviction  that  the  historical  Sabbath  is  an 
indispensable  factor  of  our  faith.  Let  Sunday  serv- 
ices find  their  way  into  Jewish  congregations  every- 
where and  it  must  be  at  the  expense  of  our  strength 
and  influence.  Woe  unto  Judaism  !  Its  days  must 
needs  be  numbered  !  Woe  unto  Israel  !  Its  disin- 
tegration must  needs  be  at  hand  ! 

But  why  this  lamentation  ?  Why  predict  the  de- 
struction of  a  Jerusalem  ?  Is  there  anything  wrong 
in  Sunday  services  ?  May  one  not  worship  his 
Maker  on  any  other  day  but  Saturday  ? 


There  is  nothing  censurable  in  a  Sunday  service 
itself.  If  one  wishes  he  may  attend  on  Sunday  two 
or  three  devotional  meetings  instead  of  one.  We  not 
only  may  but  should  pay  our  orisons  to  God  every 
day  of  the  week.  God  has  no  set  time  for  listening 
to  the  supplications  and  praises  of  men.  The  wrong 
of  the  Sunday  service  lies  in  the  consequences  to 
which  it  gradually  leads.  Instituted  for  the  sake  of 
convenience,  the  Jewish  Sabbath  must  soon  be  neg- 
lected more  than  it  already  is.  Its  neglect  must  in 
the  course  of  time  be  followed  by  total  abrogation. 
With  the  Sabbath  gone,  holy  days  and  festive  seasons, 
must  eventually  become  mere  memories.  Ultimately 
Israel's  individuality  will  be  sacrificed.  Customs 
and  rites  which  have  helped  to  preserve  our  solidarity 
will  disappear.  Intermarriage  with  the  non-Jew  will 
become  a  daily  occurrence.  The  Abrahamitic  cove- 
nant will  meet  with  universal  violation.  And  what 
shall  be  left  of  our  heritage  ?  Not  a  religion  that 
deserves  the  name  "Judaism,"  but  one  that  is 
"Theism"  pure  and  simple.  Our  faith  will  be 
naught  else  but  a  system  of  ethics,  with  the  God  idea 
as  its  foundation.  -And  as  the  exponents  of  such  a 
belief  we  shall  have  no  more  in  common  religiously 
with  our  past  than  has  the  Unitarian,  who,  too,  be- 
lieves in  one  God  and  would  have  humanity  aspire 
to  the  divine. 

But,  says  the  Sunday-service  champion  :  "  Is  not 
broadening  our  mission  ?  Is  not  constant  progress 
our  duty  ?  Is  the  Judaism  of  Moses  that  of  the 
prophets  ?  or  the  Judaism  of  the  prophets  that  of  the 
Talmudists  ?  or  the  Judaism  of  the  Talmudists  that 
of  the  philosophers  ?  or  the  Judaism  of  the  philoso- 


phers  that  of  the  pioneers  of  our  century  ?  Does  not 
reform  constitute  the  "  logos  "  of  our  whole  history  ? 
Should  we  not  always  lead  the  world  in  higher 
thought  ?  Or,,  as  the  prophet  has  it,  should  we  not 
be  "a  light  unto  the  nations?"  Are  we  not  "to 
establish  the  mountain  of  the  Eternal  upon  the  top 
of  the  mountains  ?"  Are  we  not  "  to  fill  the  world 
with  a  knowledge  of  God  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea  ?"  Are  we  not  to  make  the  synagogue  "  a  house 
of  prayer  for  all  peoples  ?"  Does  not  the  quin- 
tessence of  our  gift  of  the  Sabbath  to  mankind  lie  in 
the  Sabbath  Idea  ?  And  ought  we  not  stand  for  that 
more  than  for  a  fixed  day  ?  That  reform  or  progress 
was  the  watchword  of  Israel  at  all  times  I  will  not 
gainsay.  I  am  aware  that  no  two  chronologically 
consecutive  expressions  of  Judaism  corresponded  in 
every  detail.  Yet  one  point  is  certain,  that  reform 
does  not  stand  and  never  stood  for  a  step  naught  else 
but  a  headlong  plunge  into  a  sea  in  which  annihila- 
tion alone  awaits  us.  Reform  was  always  develop- 
ment along  distinct  lines — Jewish  lines.  Our  relig- 
ion to  be  Jewish  dare  not  sacrifice  characteristically 
Jewish  institutions.  Among  these  the  Sabbath  ranks 
by  no  means  least  nor  last.  The  historical  Sabbath 
is  one  of  the  vital  organs  in  the  body  of  Judaism.  It 
is  the  testimony  of  the  Jew  to  God's  wondrous 
power.  Justly,  therefore,  does  the  lawgiver  speak  of 
it  as  ' '  the  sign  between  the  Eternal  and  Israel 
throughout  all  generations."  (Ex.  XXXI  :  13.) 
Commemorating  as  it  does  God's  creation  of  the 
universe  (Ex.  XX:  n)  and  his  deliverance  of  our 
ancestors  from  Egyptian  bondage  (Deut.  V  ;  15),  the 
Saturday  Sabbath  has  become  a  part  of  Israel's 


spiritual  life.  I  hope  that  none  will  charge  me  with 
advocating  the  belief  in  a  six-days'  creation  because 
I  base  the  establishment  of  the  Sabbath  upon  the 
creation  narrative  contained  in  the  Scriptures.  Per- 
mit me  to  state  before  proceeding  any  further  that  I, 
like  those  who  will  no  doubt  judge  me  on  more  (?) 
scientific  principles,  consider  the  first  chapters  of 
Genesis,  written  merely  for  the  purpose  of  emphasiz- 
ing what  the  fourth  commandment,  both  in  Exodus 
and  Deuteronomy,  aims  to  teach — namely,  that  the 
one  God,  the  Eternal,  Jehovah,  is  Creator,  Governor, 
and  Sustainer  of  all  that  lives  and  moves.  Yet,  just 
because  the  historical  Sabbath  has  its  origin  in  these 
Scriptural  passages  it  is  for  us  an  integral  factor  of 
Israel's  faith. 

Another  element  that  enters  into  the  distinctive 
Jewish  character  of  the  historical  Sabbath  is  the 
establishment  of  Sunday  as  the  day  of  rest  by  the 
Christian  world.  We  know  that  Sunday  was  origin- 
ally a  day  sacred  to  the  Sun-God,  and  that  the 
Emperor  Constantine  was  responsible  for  its  adoption 
by  Christendom.  It  is,  however,  none  the  less  true 
that  when  adopted  by  the  church  the  church  was 
prompted  in  its  departure  by  the  desire  to  differ  from 
the  synagogue  as  much  as  the  willingness  to  make  a 
compromise  with  ancient  heathenism.  The  church's 
tradition  as  to  the  day  of  its  Savior's  resurrection 
was  soon  found  helpful  in  giving  Sunday  a  distinctly 
Christian  character.  If,  therefore,  the  Saturday 
stands  for  the  God,  who  is  a  Unity,  the  Sunday 
stands  for  the  Trinity. 

And  do  not  the  thousand  and  one  historical  asso- 
ciations of  the  Saturday  endow  it  with  a  special 


10 

claim  upon  the  Jew  ?  The  Saturday  was  to  our 
fathers  the  oasis  of  the  week.  It  furnished  them 
with  refreshment  when  their  spirits  were  well  nigh 
crushed  by  the  heavy  burdens  they  were  made  to 
bear.  Ordinarily  they  were  the  slaves  of  slaves. 
The  Sabbath  found  them  rich  and  free  as  princes. 
That  Sabbath  they  would  not  give  up.  For  it  they 
were  ready  to  make  the  costliest  sacrifices.  The)7 
would  rather  part  with  possessions,  home  and  life, 
and  suffer  want,  persecution  and  maltreatment  than 
desecrate  that  day  consecrated  by  law  and  by  the 
usage  of  centuries  to  the  worship  of  their  God. 

But,  suggests  the  radical  again  :  "  L,et  us  breathe 
into  the  Sunday  the  spirit  which  made  of  the  old 
Saturday  a  spiritual  educator  for  our  forefathers  ! 
Let  us  transfer  our  whole  mode  of  worship  and  all 
our  customs  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week  !  ^  ould  we  not  thus  save  the  unparalleled 
healthful  influence  which  the  peculiar  character  of 
the  old  Jewish  Sabbath  wielded  ?  Preposterous  ! 
The  spice  of  the  Saturday  Sabbath  lay  for  the  most 
part  in  the  numerous  ceremonies  which  clustered 
about  the  home  life.  Shall  we  on  Saturday  evening 
welcome  the  bride  of  the  Sabbath  ?  Shall  we  make 
it  the  occasion  for  family  reunions  ?  Shall  we  observe 
the  various  other  usages  which  still  make  our  parental 
homes  to  many  of  us  objects  of  fondest  reminiscences  ? 
Apart  from  the  fact  that  such  institutions  would  not 
thrive  if  removed  from  their  native  and  planted  in 
foreign  soil  their  observance  would  demand  sacrifices 
which  the  great  majority  of  people  would  be  unwil- 
ling to  make. 

"  But,"  interposes  the  radical  again,  "  why  hold 
fast  to  a  day  on  which  Jews  will  not  and  can  not  be 


11 

reached  ?  Are  we  not  losing  those  who  might  prove 
valuable  champions  of  our  faith  ?  Can  a  cause  live 
without  advocates  ?  On  Sunday  Jews,  like  others, 
are  at  leisure  !  Why  not,  therefore,  preach  the  prin- 
ciples of  Judaism  to  them  then  ?  Would  it  not  be 
advisable  to  make  that  concession  for  the  sake  of 
increasing  the  number  of  the  possibly  faithful  ?  Only 
make  the  trial  and  you  shall  see  the  religious  regen- 
eration in  our  ranks."  The  trial  has  been  made,  and 
in  some  congregations  with  dismal  failure.  In  others 
it  has  met  with  half-hearted  encouragement.  The 
Sunday  service  does  not  appeal  to  the  Jew.  It  will 
never  make  its  boasted  power  felt.  It  lacks  the 
authority  of  history.  And  in  those  communities 
where  it  has  proven  successful  the  apparent  success 
must  be  attributed  to  the  artistic  singing  of  choirs, 
the  oratorical  powers  or  personal  magnetism  of  the 
preacher  and  his  ability  to  devise  novel  plans  and 
measures  for  keeping  the  public  eye  centered  upon 
the  movements  of  his  congregation. 

And,  furthermore,  should  the  Jew  be  ready  to  give 
up  his  self-respect  at  the  slightest  provocation  ? 
What  do  you  imagine  does  the  non -Jewish  world 
think  of  us  when  it  beholds  us  adopting  the  Sunday 
in  place  of  the  Saturday  Sabbath  ?  Its  thoughts  are 
not  difficult  to  read.  It  says  to  itself  :  "In  the  Jew 
we  have  the  Esau  who  would  sacrifice  his  birthright 
for  a  mess  of  pottage.  In  the  Jew  we  see  the  arch- 
materialist  of  our  age."  The  true  Jew  is  spiritual, 
made  so  by  the  idealism  which  his  religion  preaches. 
No  faith  contains  teachings  more  sublime  than  are 
those  which  constitute  the  burden  of  Judaism.  It  is 
the  idealism  breathing  through  our  whole  religion 


12 

to  which  the  Jews'  creditable  career  during  past  ages 
is  traceable.  If  there  is  anything  that  impresses  one 
as  ludicrous  it  is  the  exultation  among  Jews  over  the 
seeming  success  of  the  Sunday-Sabbath  movement 
which  we  so  often  witness.  It  reminds  one  involun- 
tarily of  a  person  who  would  rejoice  over  the  demise 
of  father  or  mother  and  the  acquirement  of  a  step- 
parent. 

No  !  A  "  Shabbos  Sheni  "  or  a  Sunday  service 
will  never  give  to  the  Jew  a  day  of  worship  freighted 
with  Jewish  inspiration.  A  "Shabbos  Sheni"  or  a 
Sunday  service  will  never  rescue  our  faith  from  ob- 
livion. What  we  need  is  a  little  more  of  the  real 
appreciation  and  love  for  that  which  is  Jewish.  Here 
is  work  for  our  preachers  and  teachers.  I  hold  that 
with  the  influence  of  our  Rabbis  exerted  in  favor  of 
the  Saturday  Sabbath  great  results  might  be  achieved. 
Had  the  radicals  fought  as  heroically  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  historical  Sabbath  as  they  did  for  the 
institution  of  the  Sunday  service  there  would  to-day 
be  no  Sabbath  question.  Why  does  this  congrega- 
tion enjoy  the  enviable  reputation  of  having  the 
largest  Saturday  attendance  in  the  United  States  ? 
Why  ?  Is  it  because  Baltimore  is  less  cosmopolitan 
than  New  York,  Philadelphia  or  Chicago  ?  No  ! 
Not  by  any  manner  or  means.  But  because  he  who 
guided  your  destinies  for  nearly  thirty-five  years 
never  ceased  emphasizing  the  absolute  necessity  of 
the  continuance  of  the  Saturday  worship  for  the  life 
of  Judaism  as  he  never  tired  instilling  respect  for 
everything  Jewish.  Yes  !  let  but  the  pulpit  speak 
with  becoming  reverence  of  all  thai  is  Jewish  and 
much  of  the  irreverence  often  making  itself  seen  in 


13 

the  pew  may  never  come  to  life.  Do  not  tell  me  that 
the  keenness  of  competition  in  mercantile  spheres 
makes  the  observance  of  the  historical  Sabbath  im- 
possible. I  was  told  only  a  few  days  ago  by  one  in 
position  to  express  an  opinion  that  the  retail  as  well 
as  wholesale  establishments  may  keep  closed  on  Sat- 
urday without  loss  or  injury,  because  business  is  vir- 
tually at  a  standstill  on  Saturday  forenoon,  and  com- 
mences only  when  the  Jewish  Sabbath  is  well  nigh  at 
an  end.  And  may  not  the  Jewish  laborer  look 
forward  to  the  time  when  he  shall  be  able  to  observe 
the  historical  day  of  rest,  especially  since  a  move- 
ment is  already  on  foot  in  many  places  to  make  of 
Saturday  a  whole  holiday  for  workmen  instead  of  a 
half  holiday  as  it  already  is  ? 

Do  you  wish  that  Judaism  should  live  ?  Then, 
first  of  all,  observe  your  Sabbath.  Show  that  you 
possess  ideals.  Do  not  imagine  that  the  Sabbath  is 
being  properly  kept  if  merely  you — the  aged  heads 
of  homes — gather  in  your  houses  of  worship  while 
your  sons  are  in  the  office,  store  or  factory,  your 
daughters  are  attending  to  the  family's  shopping  and 
your  younger  children  are  taking  painting  or  music 
lessons,  and  what  not  during  hours  that  should  be 
devoted  to  synagogal  worship. 

Are  you  indifferent  to  the  historical  Sabbath  ?  Do 
you  desecrate  it  because  you  claim  that  its  observ- 
ance is  with  you  an  impossibility  ?  Then  resign 
yourselves  to  your  fate.  Sunday  services  will  grad- 
ually win  their  way  into  the  synagogue.  The  death- 
knell  of  Judaism  must  needs  be  sounded.  All  Israel 
is  called  upon  tp  solve  the  Sabbath  question.  You 
are  constantly  working  at  its  solution  by  your  atti- 


14 

tude  to  the  historical  day  of  rest.  If  Israel  feels 
that  it  still  has  a  mission  then  let  it  not  treat  lightly 
an  institution  which  is  its  religion's  life.  Let  it  exe- 
cute faithfully  that  injunction  we  to-day  encounter 
in  our  scriptural  portion  of  the  week  :  ' '  My  Sabbaths 
ye  shall  keep."  (I,ev.  XXVI  :  2.)  Let  Israel  do 
this  for  its  own  glory  and  that  of  its  God.  AMEN. 


Umv.  of  Calif.  Library,  105 


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